NBA Finals: Four X-factors to watch in Game 1

The NBA Finals will mostly be dictated by each team’s stars. The Heat are counting on LeBron James, as well as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to a lesser extent. San Antonio’s chances start with Tim Duncan, then Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili.

But it is not just them. Each team has a few wildcards that can make a big difference. Here are four to watch in Game 1 tonight (9 p.m., ABC):

Mario Chalmers, Heat
Chalmers has had a frustrating postseason, but he is due to break out with a good scoring game at some point. He had a 19-point and 20-point game against San Antonio in last year’s Finals. A performance like that could be all Miami needs to run away with a blowout. Additionally, Chalmers will take on Parker as his defensive assignment.

Danny Green, Spurs
Heat fans still shudder at that name. Green lit them up in last year’s Finals by drilling 27 of 49 3-pointers. Who does that? Green, 26, is a slippery assignment for Wade and could end up with plenty of open looks again this time. That would be a huge liability considering he is hitting 48.1 percent of his 3-pointers in the playoffs.

Rashard Lewis, Heat
If he can keep this going, Lewis will be one of the best stories of the postseason. Remember that this guy used to be one of the most dangerous and highly paid scorers in the league, and now he is cool with being part of the supporting cast. He had 18 points in Game 5 against the Pacers and 13 in Game 6, doing so on 9-for-16 shooting from 3.

Marco Belinelli, Spurs
This is another problematic 3-point shooter for the Heat and he has made 41.4 percent of his 3-pointers during the postseason. What Miami hopes to avoid is letting him get loose for several of them in one game like Brooklyn’s Mirza Teletovic did in the second round.